Giving up
by ashhead
Summary: Tony's time is running out, Michelle is falling apart and Jack has a job to do.
1. Michelle's apartment

Jack looked about himself nervously. He really hated coming here. Every time he came he recognised her less and less. The Michelle he knew was gone, long gone. The girl in this apartment was just a shell, her eyes hard and her heart frozen solid. But sometimes, only the best would do. Michelle was the best, she was competent, discrete, ruthless, one of the best shots he'd seen, and most importantly, she was immune to the virus.

Knowing what he did about the threat they were facing, he swallowed hard, and took out the key she had once given him. He let himself in, knowing that she'd already know he was there. He walked into the darkened apartment feeling faintly sick. The place was unchanged from how it had been six years ago when Tony still lived there.

He didn't notice the dark figure creeping up behind him until her knee collided painfully with his back, bringing him to his knees. The cold metal of her gun bit into the back of his neck, making him freeze, he knew perfectly well that she was capable of pulling the trigger. "Michelle, its Jack," he said quickly, just in case she thought he was someone else.

"I know its you Jack, no one else has a key." Even her voice sounded cold. She still didn't remove her gun from his neck, but pressed it in deeper. He'd been here a handful of times since the day they'd taken Tony away. Each time he had a mission for her, one that only she could complete. A few times it had involved hacking into the CTU operating system, a system that she had designed from scratch, but mostly it involved dealing with the Cordilla virus. Although Steven Saunders had been caught and the vials he controlled apprehended, several other terrorist organisations were able to get hold of the virus before the scientists selling it were dealt with. Being the only trained government employee with an immunity to the virus meant that she was invaluable, even if she was an ex-agent.

Each time she snapped up the opportunity, telling herself that maybe if she did this, they'd remember her husband, sat alone in a cell, and they'd give him back to her. Each time she'd walk into that situation, knowing full well that there was a large probability she would die, and she'd complete her mission. Twice she had had to watch whilst innocent people died because she had failed, and there was no Tony back at CTU to bring them a way out. But that was when she still believed it was possible to save Tony. Today she was not going to say yes, she was not going to go through that again, she no longer believed she could save him.

Jack knelt perfectly still, feeling the hand that held the gun into his neck shake slightly. She wants to kill me, he realised. Something had to have happened, Michelle wouldn't want to kill him unless something was seriously wrong. She was the strongest person he knew, he'd sat beside her at the Tony's trial, not a flicker of emotion passed her face, not even when the verdict came back. Yet here she was, pressing a gun to his neck, desperately wanting to pull the trigger.

Completely disregarding the reason he had come here, he whispered softly into the darkness, "What happened?"

He felt the gun slide back from his neck and heard her breathing become more settled. "You don't know do you?" Before he had a chance to reply, she continued, "Of course you don't, you wouldn't have come here if you'd known." A faint laugh as she removed her knee from his back where she'd been holding him down.

He turned and saw her for the first time in over a year. It was not what he expected. Far from being cold and distant, she was a wreck. She was dressed solely in one of Tony's shirts, although it reached down to her knees. Her hair had been pulled back at one point, but the majority of it had escaped to hang loosely about her face. Her face was tear stained, her eyes swollen. Shaky hands pointed a gun in his direction.

She used the gun to point towards the door, indicating that he needed to leave before she did something she might regret, although she very much doubted that pumping him full of bullets was something she would regret.

He started towards the door, very much afraid of the woman who had once been his closest friend. Then he remembered the reason he had come here. "Michelle..."

She cut in before he could finish his sentence, "I don't care Jack, whatever it is, you'll have to find someone else. You need to leave. Now." If Jack had come here, she knew that there was no one else who could do the job, but there was no way she was going to help him.

Jack heard the steel in her voice, and knew that there was no way that she would come with him. As he left he called back, "What happened Michelle? You know people are going to die if you don't help us."

Her voice was heavy with tears and was barely audible across the room. "I don't care Jack." That was the truth, she had long since ceased to care about other people.

Jack had one last card to play, and it was one he really didn't want to have to play. He knew she didn't care about other people, he knew the only reason she helped him was that she wanted to get Tony back. The air of despair that surrounded her when she found out that he wasn't coming back, the look of betrayal in her eyes, completely broke his heart. As he walked back out through the door, he murmured, "What about Tony?"

This completely shattered Michelle. The tears that had stopped when she'd gone to deal with Jack started to flow freely again. She met Jack's eyes, she hated the pity she saw there. She closed her eyes so that she wouldn't have to see his reaction as she answered, "They set the date, they're going to kill him." Tears forced her eyes open and blinded her to his reaction. As she felt his arms pulling her towards him, she whispered, "Next Thursday."

Pressed tightly to his chest, she could almost pretend that it was Tony who had her wrapped in his arms. Almost. Although Jack and Tony were of similar heights, and Jack's arms felt just as strong as they gripped her waist, she knew he wasn't Tony. He didn't smell right, and Tony's head would be buried in her hair. She pulled back, this was just making it worse, she'd started to ache for Tony in a way that she rarely did any more.

Jack kept his arms around her waist, he didn't want to let her go. The last time he'd held someone this close was 5 years ago. Her skin was so soft against his. Her body was shaking, her eyes were bloodshot, he just wanted to take some of her pain away. As she started to protest, he placed his lips on hers, pushing his tongue into her mouth. He kissed her fiercely, ignoring the warning in his head. After an initial protest, she wrapped her hands around him, kissing him back just as fiercely. Normally Michelle wasn't a heavy drinker, she got really bad hangovers. But now her mouth was thick with the taste of it. The same as it had been last time.

It wasn't until his hands started to slide up the inside of her shirt that she realised what it was that she was doing. She ripped herself out of his grip, pushing back the tears from her eyes. This was not a game she wanted to play, they both knew where this road ended up. Why wouldn't he just leave?


	2. CTU

Jack glanced in the mirror at the girl curled up in the back of his car, sunlight glinting off her handcuffs. He hated how fragile she looked, her skin was so pale in the sunlight, he wondered how long it had been since she'd gone outside. She was so very thin, she looked as if she might snap if you touched her, although the bruise forming in his back was testament to the fact that she was much stronger than she looked. Her face had gone back to being stony, although it showed evidence of her previous tears and there were red marks forming on her neck from where he'd... No, it was better if he didn't think of that. She was still only wearing Tony's shirt, he'd tried to get her changed, but she'd just stared blankly at him.

He knew it had been a mistake to come, he'd wanted to leave her alone, he'd even gone back to his car to let Hammond know she wasn't coming. But they'd insisted, it was important. So he'd gone back in, she was crumpled in a heap on the floor and didn't even put up a fight as he put the handcuffs on her.

Jack had said he was taking her back to CTU, Michelle knew this was big, she hadn't been back to CTU since the day she'd signed her contract. She really didn't want to go back there, too many memories that she'd tried so long to forget. She glanced at Jack, she knew from the look on his face that he didn't want to be doing this, not that she felt any sympathy for him, he chose to continue working at CTU, even after everything it had done to him.

So she stared blankly into the ground, willing everything away, pretending that this wasn't happening. It was a skill that she'd become an expert in. Even as he dragged her out of his car and into CTU, she saw nothing.

Pulling her through the main floor of CTU, Jack was intensely aware of her appearance. Dishevelled hair, tear stained face, handcuffs, dressed only in a shirt that was far too big for her, her bare feet silently crossing the ground. He should have tried harder to get her cleaned up and changed. It was bad enough that he had to bring her back to this place, filled with people that she had once known, but letting them see her like this wasn't fair.

Whilst most of the people in the building openly stared at her as he pushed her through the doors and guided her to one of the holding rooms, Chloe kept her eyes as far away from Michelle as possible. She didn't see what everyone else saw, she saw the Michelle who had left work five years ago. She could still feel Michelle's fingernails digging into the back of her head as she held her against the wall, the burning anger of her eyes, the pressure of her gun in her lower back. It hadn't even been her fault, Michelle shouldn't have been eavesdropping, and besides, what she'd said about Tony had been true. He did deserve everything he got. As soon as Jack and Michelle disappeared out of sight, Chloe discovered that she had a really bad headache that was far too painful for her to be able to stay at work.

Brad Hammond stood watching Michelle through the window in her holding room, Jack by his side. Jack was right, she was a state. Even so, Hammond knew Michelle. He knew it was only a matter of pressing the right buttons. He purposefully hadn't told Jack about Tony's execution date, Jack wouldn't have gone to get her. Jack was the only link they had to Michelle, she'd refused to deal with anyone else, she said she knew where she stood with Jack, although Hammond thought there was more to it than that.

Jack watched Michelle, feeling incredibly guilty. He should have just told Hammond where to stick it. She wasn't able to cope with this. In 10 days they were going to take away the only thing in the world that she cared about. He knew the look in her eyes, it was one he'd seen in his own eyes so many times before when he contemplated whether life was still worth living.

He turned to Hammond, "Look Brad, I don't think she should be here. Even if you can get her to agree, look at her, she's unstable. You should find somebody else."

Annoyed that Jack would think that pulling Michelle out of her self-imposed retirement was anything but a last option, Hammond replied, "There is no one else and you know it, she's the only agent we have with an immunity. I know you care about her..." Jack knew these words, he'd heard them before, they meant 'I know you're sleeping with her'. He ignored this, that was not a mistake he was going to make again, despite this afternoons lapse in control, but arguing with Hammond wasn't going to make a difference. Brad continued, "...But she has to be the one to do this, she's the only one who can do this."

Michelle rested her head on the table, trying to get some sleep, she couldn't remember how long it had been since she'd last been able to sleep properly. She'd been having nightmares ever since she'd got the letter about Tony. She was more tired after sleeping than she had been before. Even so, sleep was preferable to what was to come.

She fought an urge to wave to whoever was watching her through the window, she imagined it was Brad Hammond, he enjoyed tormenting her. He was the one who had negotiated her contract, her silence in return for her co-operation and a salary. She remembered the way he looked at her and she hated him for it.

She tried to push away all the memories that coming here had brought back. She tried to push away the looks on the faces as she'd been guided into the holding room. She knew what she looked like, but she'd refused to give Jack the satisfaction of making her change. If she co-operated with him, he would think he'd won, she wasn't going to let him win.


	3. Michelle's choice

A/N Thanks for reviewing. I've already finished this, but am in the process of rewriting the bits I don't like.

I couldn't hurt Tony, that would just be wrong

The Michelle and Jack thing will become clearer later, but the idea was that Michelle is so messed up that she has no idea what she's doing, and Jack's just trying to grab hold of anything he can. Please leave more reviews if you want

Jack slipped into the holding room with a glass of water and some painkillers. He knew she would never admit it, but the amount of alcohol that he'd tasted in her mouth meant that she would be feeling really ill by now. Hammond had run off to do... well, whatever it was that he had run off to do. In the meantime, Michelle wasn't a prisoner as such, there was no reason for her to be treated as though she'd done something wrong.

He slid the glass of water on the table as he reached to undo her handcuffs. He knew the moment he touched her hands that he'd put them on too tight. As soon as he undid them she rubbed the raw skin of her wrists, wincing at the pain this induced.

"You didn't use to drink so much," Jack murmured as he handed her the painkillers and slid the glass of water closer to her.

"I used to believe I could save Tony's life," she replied, gladly taking the painkillers.

There was nothing Jack could say in response to this, so he turned to leave. Thinking this might be the last time he got to speak to her alone, he decided to say something he should have said a long time ago, "I'm sorry."

Her stony face broke, emotion rushed to her eyes, she hadn't been expecting that. "For what?"

He considered all the answers he could give, for bringing her back here, for not being able to save Tony, for being willing to sacrifice her for this job, for letting Brad Hammond force her out, for kissing her. In the end, none of these seemed suitable, so he simply said, "For everything."

A single tear ran down her face as she nodded. He held her in his arms again, but this time it was Michelle Dessler, not some convoluted mixture of Teri, Kate, Claudia, and if he was honest, Nina Myers.

Knowing that this room was being watched, he let her go. "You should do this Michelle, he'll only make life difficult for you if you don't."

Brad Hammond. Her favourite person in the universe. She knew her contract depended on her complying with him, but it didn't matter any more, she only had to last ten more days. She said as much to Jack.

He looked at her, he knew what her words meant, and he knew she meant them. He wanted to tell her that she didn't need to feel like that, that everything was going to be ok, but six years without her husband had nearly destroyed her, and she was probably right, she probably did only have ten days left.

So he left, he shut himself into his office and tried to bury himself in his work. She was the last link he had with the world, and although he hadn't seen her in over a year, and they hadn't been close in much longer than that, it still hurt a lot more than it should. These thoughts inevitably brought his mind to other subjects, specifically his daughter. It had been years since he'd seen her or Chase. Kim had said she'd support him through rehab, that she'd be there for him, that she cared. That was until she found out that he'd put a gun to Chase's head and pulled the trigger. She looked at him, and her eyes were filled with fear. He'd seen that look so many times before, but never in his daughter's eyes. So he didn't resist, he let her go. Who knew where she was now? Instead of Kim, Michelle was there for him whilst he went through rehab, she had nothing else to do, nowhere else to be. She'd urged him to call Kate, after all, Kate had reached out to him, but every time he thought about that his blood ran cold. He'd seen that look in her eyes too.

Besides, Michelle was a silent reminder of the damage love did. It was just better not to put himself in that situation.

Brad Hammond saw the look of burning hatred in her eyes that she quickly covered up with that stone mask she wore so often now. He smiled to himself, the girl he knew was still in there, meaning that he could manipulate her into helping them. "How long has it been since you last saw him?" Brad knew the answer, and Michelle knew that he knew the answer. Even so, she felt her heart skip a beat as she realised how long it had been. Two years.

"I'll make this simple," Brad said, not waiting for an answer. "You help us, and you can see him."

This caught her attention. She met his eyes, hers demanding more details. He simply threw his file on the table and walked out, as if it disgusted him to be in a room with her.

Her eyes greedily snapped up the details on the paper. 10 minutes alone with him on the day that they would murder him. Not long, but long enough to say goodbye, long enough to feel his arms about her one last time. Long enough to tell him she loved him. Long enough to say sorry.

She looked up at the security camera and nodded her head. What else could she do?


	4. Debrief

Somehow, the job of debriefing Michelle fell to Jack. He'd tried to assign someone else, but Hammond had insisted. He'd tried to compose himself, to try and hide the fact that he'd been drudging up memories that should have been left buried. He'd done a pretty good job, but not good enough to hide it from her.

Michelle knew from the moment he walked in that he'd been crying. He'd covered it up well, there was nothing about him that suggested it, but she knew him. She'd seen him cry so many times whilst he was going through withdrawal, tears for Chase, Kim, Ryan Chappelle, Claudia, Kate, Teri, even her and Tony.

Habit brought her arms about him. Like she had done so many times before, she wrapped his arms about him and buried his head in her shoulder, whispering softly in his ear that everything was going to be ok. She should have been angry with him, should have been furious that he had put her in this situation, but all she could feel was his pain.

"I'm ok Michelle," it was so difficult to let go of her, and even when he did, memories of her touch overwhelmed him. He tore his gaze away from her and towards the mirror, a silent caution.

She nodded in understanding, backing away from him. She shouldn't let him touch her. Whether it was from exhaustion or intoxication she wasn't sure, but his touch was destroying her resolve. When he held her, she could feel Tony's fingers entwined in her hair, his laugh ringing in her ears. She wanted to hold him and never let him go. But Jack wasn't Tony. She only had to last 10 more days, then it wouldn't matter, nothing would matter.

The emotions playing out on her face made Jack wonder which scared him more, Michelle as she was now, vulnerable, her face a beautiful picture of the agony she had endured, or the Michelle of earlier, controlled, emotionless, dead.

He'd taken her to Tony's trial, he sat beside her, watching nervously as the trial played out before him. She'd wanted to go alone, but he didn't trust her not to do something stupid, so he'd insisted that he take her. But she may as well of not been there. Her eyes were completely glazed over, and she barely bothered to listen to what was being said. He'd hoped that seeing Tony might excite some reaction from her, but he wasn't there, it was too dangerous for him to be there, the press might get wind of what was happening. So Jack focused his attention on her. But there was nothing, not a flicker of emotion, and he found himself wondering if she even cared. That was until he noticed the trickle of blood escaping her mouth, where in her attempt to keep her face impassive, she bitten the inside of her cheek. She didn't seem to notice, and it wasn't until then that he realised how much she kept locked inside, how much she missed Tony. He'd brushed the blood off her chin, and her eyes had swung round to meet him, burning with an intense hatred.

No, the Michelle behind the mask was the one that scared him.

They sat down and he passed her the mission file. "Why did you change your mind?" A dangerous question, but one he needed to know the answer to.

Why wouldn't he just get this over with, why did he insist on asking her these questions? She didn't have the energy to maintain a façade, not in front of him, so she answered, "They are going to let me see him, before they kill him, not for long, but I have to see him, Jack."

"You could have asked for more, they would have given it." He shouldn't have said that.

"It wouldn't have made any difference, Palmer was right, treason's too big, you can't just make it disappear." She knew she could have asked for more, but what was the point, none of it would make a difference.

She wanted to end this conversation, she didn't want to be having it, especially not with him. She opened the file, forcing herself to look at what it was she was going to do. She needed to be prepared, especially after last time. She still had dreams about, they were just children, they didn't deserve to die. She'd seen enough to have a different nightmare every night of her life, but the ones that haunted her were always the same. Children screaming, blood pouring down there noses. Saunders' stale breath on her face. Gael telling her that suicide was a sin. Tony, dying.

"They control at least three vials of the virus and hazmat suits." He knew that she could read it, but he could see the pain in her eyes, and didn't want to leave her on her own.

"Why can't hazmat handle it?" She was confused, it should be a straight forward building raid, hazmat should be able to handle it, why did they need her to go in?

Jack hadn't expected her to pick up on that as quickly as she had, but then again, she was the best, it was the only reason she was still alive. "They've got access to some sensitive information that we can't risk becoming public knowledge. It needs to be discrete, hazmat can't do it."

Her mind filled in the blanks, they couldn't send anyone in who didn't have immunity. After what had happened to Ryan Chappelle, new procedures had been introduced, so no one without an immunity could be sent in. If they had control of vials of the virus on US soil, then there wasn't going to be enough time to set someone up undercover. She was the only person they could use. "What information?"

He shook his head, she didn't have the security clearance. Even if she did, he wouldn't tell her. One of the reasons that Brad Hammond had been so eager to get rid of her was that she was a security risk. There was a clear motive for betrayal, and it wasn't fair to put her in a position where she had access to the type of information that she could use to try and blackmail the government for her husband's freedom.

So they still didn't trust her, even Jack didn't trust her. She was annoyed at this. Hadn't they learnt anything? She had been hacking into the government files for years through the CTU system. They knew she could do it, they'd even asked her to do it for them. If she was going to use the information against them, she would have done it years ago. But she'd never been able to, she'd joined CTU because she wanted to serve her country, and even though her country had betrayed her, she still felt the same way.

"Fine," was her short, angry response.

"Chelle..." Her eyes shot up to his. They had an agreement, he wouldn't call her that. "I ought to go," he said.

"Yes, you should." Then more gently, "I can manage, Jack."

He nodded at her and left, seeking refuge in his office. The last time he'd seen her, she was still mad at him. They'd barely spoken two words. Even that was hard. But now, she was a mess. All he wanted to do was wrap her up in his arms and take away her pain. He knew what it was like to be hurting the way she was. But that was dangerous. When he held her in his arms, he didn't see Michelle Dessler, and she didn't see Jack Bauer.


	5. Leaving CTU

Shorter chapter now. There is some unpleasantness at the end of the chapter but I tried not to dwell on it. I do promise that it will get happier at some point, just not yet. Please R&R.

She'd changed now, black leather. He guessed it was some kind of sick joke of Brad Hammond's. The clothes she was wearing were the same she'd worn on the day she'd been trapped in the hotel. What had she done that had antagonised him so much? He'd asked her, but she refused to tell him. She'd followed them to Federal the day they took Tony away and something had happened, he just didn't know what.

She was going over the mission files one last time. She knew that her chances of survival were low. They always were. If it was desperate enough for CTU to call her in, then the likelihood was that she was going to die.

She was receiving some last minute training on how to make it look like that she knew how to drive a motorbike. Her cover was that she was delivering a pizza. That would get her into the building, she had to do the rest by herself.

Jack had been with her since she was briefed, keeping her away from anything that she wasn't supposed to see. She'd ignored him, figuring it was easier that way. She just kept repeating 'Ten days' over and over in her head. This didn't matter, none of it did, in ten days she could see him, hold him, watch him die.

Sheer exhaustion was causing her to make mistakes, but she kept working. They were going to send her in tomorrow, she needed to be ready, too many things could go wrong.

Eventually, after the twentieth time she'd fallen off the bike, Jack walked towards her, picked her up and dragged her back inside. She leant heavily against him, finding herself barely able to walk. Despite this, she still argued that she should be outside training.

Jack found himself smiling at her protestations, it was nice to know that some things never changed. There was no way that she could do any more, they both knew it. She needed to be fresh for tomorrow.

So he half dragged, half carried her back to the holding room that they'd set up a bed in. Hammond thought she was a flight risk, so had insisted that she stay at CTU until it was time.

"My head hurts," she said with a giggle as she collapsed on the bed.

He looked at her sharply, it had been years since she'd laughed. Her comment was so completely out of character.

She just shook her head, "Last chance to laugh, and it does hurt, I think I hit on the floor."

He stood there, not believing her explanation.

"Just leave Jack," she sighed, exhaustion pulling her head onto the blanket. She hadn't changed her clothes, but she was far too tired to be able to now.

He watched her for a second longer, so she let her eyes drop. Eventually she heard the door close behind him, and she opened her eyes once more to let the tears run down her face. She'd done it again. She'd forgotten. Even after she promised Tony that she wouldn't. The look on his face, the phone call from the prison, seeing him in hospital. She'd promised. "I am so sorry," she whispered.

She'd asked to speak to him in private before she left. To her surprise, Hammond had agreed. Maybe he was developing a heart in his old age.

She fell into his arms so easily, the warmth she felt calming the beating of her heart. Suddenly, it was easy. She reached up to him and drew his mouth down to hers.

She surprised him, he hadn't expected this. In an instant he could feel it all, the slight bite of her fingernails digging into his back, the warmth of her hair against his chest, the look on her face as she pulled herself out from underneath him, the sound of running water in his bathroom as she tried to hide the fact that she was being sick.

She pulled away and whispered softly in his ear, "Tell him I love him."

Jack felt her voice drag him back to reality. Not really comprehending what she said, he nodded and watched her leave. It wasn't until she shut the door behind her that he realised what her words meant. He ran after her, calling her name.

As she was bundled into the van, she saw him and shot him a sad smile. Then she was gone.

Breathing heavily, Jack slumped against the wall. He was too late. Why hadn't he seen it before. It had been what he wanted when he got into the plane with the nuclear bomb. The chance to go out in a blaze of glory, a chance to let go of everything. She could die a good death, Tony would be proud of her. When he escaped the plane, he'd had a daughter, all she had to look forward to was her husband's death.

His eyes caught sight of Brad Hammond, his eyes watching the van drive off, a huge smile plastered on his face.


	6. Keeler

Thanks for the reviews. I hate Hammond too, and might actually try ending it with him being "accidentally" killed.

I promise no killing or hurting Tony (in case you want to know, he'll be in the next part)

"You knew." Jack's voice echoed across the parking lot, the anger in it making it thunder. He wondered if anyone would care if he wrapped his fingers around Hammond's neck and drained all the life from his body. They'd sent Michelle to her death, and he had known.

The smile on Hammond's face vanished, returning to that superior air of condescension that he normally wore. "President Keeler wants one of our agents to talk him through the mission, its important to him that the information remains private. You need to leave now."

And there it was. Michelle would die, and Jack would go to the president and play the babysitter. Jack knew full well that if he tried to help her, he would be shot as a traitor before he even got near to the building.

Hammond watched Jack's mind sort through the possibilities and felt a laugh rising up inside him. He waited until Jack got into the car before he turned to go back inside. Laughter ran silently in his head.

Michelle glanced at her watch, another half an hour until they got there. She was supposed to be reviewing the mission plan, but she no longer cared. Her mind was focused elsewhere. In 9 days, Tony would die, alone. Would he blame her for not being there, for not coming back? He'd forgiven her before, could he do it again?

She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them to her body. Jack would be there for him, he'd tell Tony what she'd said, and she wouldn't have to watch him die.

They'd been over the mission twice, Jack knew there was no way he could get to Michelle now. Jack suspected President Keeler was the stupidest person he'd ever met in his life.

"So the agent we're sending in, what are his chances of survival?" President Keeler knew Jack was getting irritated with him, but he needed to be sure of the details. It was very important that the information these terrorists had was kept secret.

Jack wanted to say that there weren't any, she was going to die regardless of what happened, but didn't. "Her chances are low."

"Her." They were sending in a girl?

"Michelle Dessler is one of our best, highly trained and with an immunity to the virus." Jack answered automatically. This had happened before, politicians in particular seemed to have difficulty accepting that Michelle might be good for anything except washing dishes. He pulled up her service record. Eight top secret missions in the last six years. Six completed successfully without any casualties. Two completed but with extensive civilian casualties.

Keeler barely glanced at her record, he was entranced by her picture. She was fairly young, too young to have such a haunted look in her eyes. She was unbelievably pretty. Somehow, it would have been easier if she'd been a middle aged man with a shaven head and dead eyes. "Can I speak to her? I mean, she ought to know that she has her country's gratitude before she walks into that building."

Jack stared at Keeler, he had a strange look in his eyes and was swallowing hard. Almost as if he cared.

Jack nodded and pulled out his phone, calling the agent in charge of transporting Michelle.

The man, Michelle couldn't remember his name, gave her his phone. Who would be calling her? She imagined that Hammond had sent Jack somewhere where he couldn't interfere. The second before she put the phone to her, her heart skipped a beat. Maybe it was Tony. Placing the phone to her ear, she felt her face fall as Jack's voice sounded in her ear.

"Michelle?"

"Yes." Why was he calling her. It was too late. He couldn't change her mind.

"I have the President of the United States here. He wants to speak to you." Jack almost smiled as he imagined her face on the other end of the phone.

"Miss Dessler, this is President Keeler. I just wanted to make sure you understood that you had your country's undying gratitude."

God, this document must be important if the President of the United States was calling her to make sure she did her job properly. Responding as she should, not in a way that represented how she felt, Michelle said, "Thank you sir."

Even her voice was beautiful. She sounded so vulnerable, surely they had someone else who could do this. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

Michelle thought of all the things she could say, and was sorely tempted to ask for a pardon for Tony. But she'd already tried that one. Palmer had made it clear that that would never happen. Instead, she said, "Just tell my husband that I love him and that I am so sorry."

Upon hearing her words, Jack knew they were meant for him. She wanted him to tell Tony that she was sorry. That would have been funny if it hadn't been so awful. Despite everything, he was the only person in the world who she was close to, the only person she could trust.

Hanging up, Keeler turned to Jack and said, "Surely we must have someone else, someone who doesn't have a family."

Jack shook his head, Keeler had taken her words to mean that she had a husband sat at home waiting for her. "She's the only one with a chance at this."

"Honestly, what are her chances of coming through this." He didn't like to admit it, but the idea that they were sending her in made him distinctly uncomfortable.

Jack looked at him for a moment, trying to look for the best way to dress the truth up. Then, deciding it didn't matter, he said, "She's not coming back."

"What? But you said..."

"If there was a way out, Michelle would find it, but she doesn't want to come back."

This didn't make sense to Keeler, why wouldn't she want to come back, "But, she has a family, a husband. Of course she wants to come back."

So Keeler didn't know. That didn't surprise Jack, Keeler looked too stupid to know anything apart from his own name. "Her husband's name is Tony Almeida, he is being executed for treason next week."

Tony Almeida, he knew that name. "Wasn't he was the man who committed treason to save his..." Keeler didn't finish his sentence, he couldn't. Tony Almeida was the man who committed treason to save his wife, the woman he'd just sent to her death.

Jack watched Keeler scurry through the door. Yes, that's right, run away. That'll make things better. God, he hated that man.


	7. Tony

Ok, so I'm not to sure about the first bit of this chapter so please let me know what you think about it. As promised, this has Tony in it (and I promise not to hurt him)

Tony's fingers were pressed absently into the cut that trailed his arm. It hurt, which was reassuring. It proved that he was still alive, something which he had difficulty believing, particularly considering that he would be dead in 9 days.

9 days, he wasn't sure if it was something that he dreaded or welcomed, but the one thing that sustained him was the knowledge that she would be there. He didn't dare think her name, couldn't. She was the reason he was here. That was not an accusation, just a fact. His service record was enough that 20 years seemed an optimistic but realistic verdict. But then there was the suicide pills, he'd got them for her, he couldn't say no, just like he couldn't watch her being tortured, and although Chappelle had authorised him to get them to her, Chappelle was dead.

He shouldn't think about her it only made things worse. But then again, with 9 days left to live, it really didn't matter. He wondered if they would let him see her before they killed him, or if he would have to see her across a room. He hoped she wouldn't cry, he didn't expect that she would, but if she did he knew that he would. What he wanted was for her to breeze in with that smile on her face, the one that made him go weak at the knees. He wanted the last thing that he saw to be her smile.

The sound of keys turning in his door distracted him from his thoughts, and anger burst from him. He had 9 days left to live, why wouldn't they just leave him alone? Turning away from the door, he removed his fingers from his cut. They were covered with his blood.

No, he definitely welcomed what was to come.

10 minutes, they'd arrived, but she couldn't go in until the pizza delivery got here in 10 minutes time. She would take the bike and deliver the pizza. She was having the finishing touches applied for her hair and make up, going over in her mind the training she'd had for the bike.

Jack hadn't a clue how long he'd been sat in that room. Keeler had run off, leaving him there, and hadn't seen fit to let him go so he could go home and pray that somehow she wouldn't die. He glanced at his watch. They would have arrived by now, she would be preparing to go in.

Jack was still sat there, Keeler noted when he walked back in. "Has she gone in yet?"

Jack glanced up at him, trying to keep the hatred he felt from pouring out of his eyes. He shook his head.

"Good." Then, into his earpiece, "Bring him in."

"What's going on?"

"She is a hero. This country rewards its heroes. I'm giving her something to come back to." It was true, her service record was impressive, but what had impressed Keeler was the sound of her voice when she told him to tell her husband she loved him. Her country was going to execute her husband as a traitor because he hadn't been willing to let her die in agony. Despite this, she had continued to serve her country, putting her life on the line every time. And now, with her husband about to die, he had given her an opportunity to try and force a pardon out of him, but she hadn't. She'd just told him to tell her husband that she loved him. That more than anything convinced him that she was a hero, that she deserved better.

Tony reminded him of Michelle to an extent that Jack hadn't thought possible. His eyes were dead, his face cold. But Jack knew instantly that it was just a mask. He could see the hope in Tony's eyes, nothing could mask that. It was the same hope in Michelle's eyes when she was offered a mission. At the same time, there was the ever present despair which haunted Michelle's face.

Tony saw Jack sat there, and his heart skipped a beat. His fingers had a desperate craving to wrap themselves about his neck. Michelle he could understand. She had nothing, no one. It would be easy to get lost in despair, the same despair he so often found himself drowning in. He would do anything for a way out, and he guessed that Jack had offered her that.

But looking at Jack, his best friend for so many years, he couldn't understand. Jack had everything. He was free and alive, he had a daughter who loved him. He was Jack Bauer, special agent extraordinaire, he could have any woman he wanted. Why did it have to be his wife?

Jack held out his hand to Tony, a huge smile on his face. His friends were being given their lives back. Michelle could be happy again. He remembered the Michelle who had bounded across the office floor, wrapping her arms around him, waving her engagement ring in front of him, laughter echoing in the air. She could be like that again, she didn't have to be cold and distant anymore.

Tony knew what was expected of him, he had to shake Jack's hand. He had to smile and look happy. They were giving him his life back. If he could do this, they would let him see Michelle again. So he took Jack's hand and shook it, a smile plastered on his face, all the while wondering how much pressure he would have to apply to crush all the bones in his hand.

2 minutes, that was all. Survive those, and that would be it. She'd go in, do their silly little mission, and then it would be over. Then he handed her the phone again. Why wouldn't they just let her get it over with?

Jack's voice again, "Michelle, there's someone you need to speak to before you go." She didn't have time for this.

"Michelle..." Her name, he hadn't dared speak it in over a year. Suddenly, his mouth was dry, his heartbeat was echoing in his head, he just needed to hear her speak his name.

The moment he spoke her name, she fell apart. Tony. Jack had found him. "...Tony?" Her voice was that of a small child, filled with vulnerability, so much hope that it practically tore him apart.

"Michelle." He breathed her name, unable to do anything else. She was his, he could hear it in her voice.

Fingers on her shoulder told her that it was time to go. She saw the delivery boy being dragged away. "Tony, I have to go."

He could hear the tears in her voice, could almost see the raw pain in her eyes. Why did she have to go through this alone, again? He nodded his head, aware that she couldn't see, but aware that she would know. He wiped his had over his eyes, pushing away the wetness that was welling there.

Jack's voice pushed into her thoughts. "Michelle..." Then in a hushed tone, "The pardons only valid if you do this, you know that, right?"

Regaining her composure, she answered, "Then I guess I'll have to get it right." Her mind wanted her to cut off there, but she couldn't. "Thanks Jack, thank you so much."

Jack started to tell her that it wasn't him who had done this, but she hung up. He turned to Tony, not seeing the anger buried in his eyes, and shot him a worried smile. Now all they could do was wait.

As more time passed, the air of desperation grew until the room was thick with it. They'd been left alone in a room, Tony's eyes never quite meeting Jack's, and yet somehow hiding the anger he felt from him.

When the phone called, Jack got to it first, but put it on speaker. "Get hazmat outside, shoot to kill." Her voice was thick with pain, she could barely speak. "I'm so sorry Tony, I am so..." Then the phone cut off.

Tony supposed he must have heard what she said, some part of him was aware that he was screaming her name. But mostly he felt nothing. She was gone?? That couldn't be right. She was going to save him, she promised. She'd told him she loved him. How could she do that if she was gone?

Jack saw Tony fall to bits in front off him. He was screaming her name, his eyes had a strange, glazed look. He ought to do something, help Tony. But he couldn't. Did none of this mean anything? After all they'd been through, all that they had had to pay, she was just gone. Somewhere, a voice told him that she might be alive, it might have been nothing. He wanted to believe it, he wanted to believe it so much. But he knew Michelle. What she had said, it could only mean one thing, he'd heard the pain in her voice, the breathlessness. He didn't want to think about what could have been done to her, what might still be happening to her. But he knew that she didn't think she was coming out of this alive. And if she couldn't find a way out, then she would die.


	8. Written in stone

Next chapter- I promise this story will be happy at the end (it has a nice fluffy ending)- but this chapter and the next one won't be-sorry.

Tony wasn't aware of how much he'd had to drink, but it wasn't helping. She was everywhere, she had been ever since that day. Jack had taken him home. It had broken his heart, everything was the same, nothing had been moved or changed. The only thing that was different was the spare room now served as her bedroom, he guessed she couldn't bear to sleep in their bed alone. What made it worse was that the only thing she'd left out of place was a picture of him. He'd found it amongst a pile of empty bottles that were littered on her bed. What had he done to her?

Jack was still here, sat on the sofa, had been ever since. Something in Tony guessed he might be grieving, but only a very small part. That overpowering hatred was still there, it had just been somehow disguised.

Jack was copying Tony, drinking copious amounts of alcohol and drowning himself in memories. He could measure his life by the funerals he attended, although Michelle's had been the worst, even worse than Teri's.

The memorial had been that morning, not a funeral as the explosion destroyed all the bodies. So she had a memorial. Except it wasn't. To everybody there, she had died years ago, even Tony didn't know the woman that Michelle had become. There were no friends, she'd cut them out of her life when they'd taken Tony away. And family was sparse, Michelle hadn't had the patience or tolerance to deal with her family. So it was just Jack, Tony, and a bunch of people who didn't really know her. At least at Teri's funeral, people had been sad to lose her, at least people had cared.

Even her gravestone had been empty, it had simply said her name and dates. Tony had wanted so much to be able to write, "Loving wife and mother," but hadn't been able to. They had never gotten around to starting a family, that was why the job at Langley had been so important, a chance to have a stable job with fixed working hours. He was going to have a little girl with long dark hair and Michelle's temper and a son who he would teach to swear in Spanish, just to wind her up. But they had wanted to wait, and now she was dead. So he was never going to be able to write, "Loving mother."

And as much as he had wanted to be able to write, "Loving wife," he just couldn't bring himself to. They had only been married for a matter of months when he was arrested, and in the last 6 years he had only seen her a handful of times, it would be a lie if he were to write that, and she wouldn't want him to say it. So instead it her grave was marked with a plain black stone bearing only her name and dates, hiding all she had done for the country that she had died for.

Jack had come back to her house with Tony, that building which made him feel so ill. Not that it made any difference. He felt ill continuously. Michelle was dead. His only link to the world was gone, and he missed her. He missed her so very much.

And being near Tony made it worse. Tony would repeat over and over, "She wasn't a field agent, she wasn't supposed to be in the field." Jack knew this, and he knew that Tony needed to say it, but it was so irritating. Michelle had done the same, her motto had been, "He should have let me die." He had got annoyed at that too, and so had turned around to her and asked her what she would have done if the situation was reversed. That devastated look in her eyes answered for him. She would have let him die, she would have chosen her duty, and it was killing her. So he let Tony have his rant, no matter how irritating it was.

He wondered why he was still here. He should have gone home days ago, but couldn't. He owed something to Tony, he couldn't leave him the way he was. There was something not right in the way that he looked at people.

Plus there was still the matter of the pardon. He needed to be there to protect Tony. At first he had thought that it was just some legal loophole, but then he realised, Tony's pardon was only valid if Michelle completed her mission alive. And she hadn't, so his pardon wasn't valid. They could take him back to prison. He was just waiting for the phone call.

It came, several drinks later.


	9. Written in the flesh

Ok- this chapter might need a bit of a content warning- mostly for violence- although its not that bad. It just upset me a bit when I was writing it. I don't really dwell on it, and the PG-13 rating probably covers it- but just so you know there is some nastiness.

Jack considered trying to get Tony to try to escape, but he knew he'd never agree. Regardless of what the circumstances were, Tony would never flee his country. But with Michelle dead, it would be impossible. Tony simply didn't care, about anything. So he piled them both into a taxi, he'd have to fight at CTU. They couldn't do this, not today, not on the day of his wife's memorial, they wouldn't.

Brad Hammond saw the look on Jack's face before anything else. 'He thinks this about the pardon,' Hammond realised. Unfortunately it wasn't, he'd discovered that the pardon wasn't valid four days ago. Unfortunately, the President had refused to have him arrested. Tony was free. "Relax Jack, I want to be here even less than you do."

Brad Hammond, another person for Tony to hate. He wasn't actually sure who he hated more, the man who had tormented his wife or the man who had slept with her. No, he definitely hated Jack more.

He wasn't sure why he was here, not that he cared. Michelle was dead, she'd been his for a second, he'd heard it in her voice, but then she was gone. So none of it mattered.

Nevertheless, he followed Jack and Brad to wherever it was they were going, hoping that whatever it was wouldn't take long. He needed to go home, he could still smell her there, he could pretend that she would come rushing through the door, complaining about her shoes, pulling out her hair, breathing. He would give anything just to be able to hear her breathe. Here, all he could see was the place that had kept him apart from her, the place that had killed her.

Then he saw her. She was so pale, her face was swollen, cuts and bruises littered across it. They'd found her body.

Jack saw Tony freeze, saw emotion force the mask off his face. He followed Tony's eyes. Michelle. God, what had they done to her. She looked like she had died in such agony. He felt tears force themselves out of his eyes. Why would anyone do that to her. She looked so pale, so fragile. He shouldn't have let them bring her in. He should have pretended that he didn't know where she was. He should have done anything to protect her.

Then he noticed the IV. Why would they put an IV. in a corpse? "Tony, Tony...she's alive."

Jack was shaking him, yelling things at him. Tony felt his hands curl up into tight fists, he wanted to shove them into Jack's chest until all the skin came off them. It was Jack's fault that she was lying there, dead.

There was a group of people watching her, she could see them through the eye that hadn't been damaged. Her instinct was to curl up into a ball, she didn't want them to hurt her. But she couldn't move. She wasn't sure how badly injured she was, but she did know that there wasn't a single bit of her that didn't ache with an agony that was overwhelming.

One of the group was talking loudly, she couldn't hear what he was saying. He had dark curly hair, like Tony's. Tony. She'd betrayed him. Again. She'd tried so hard, but she'd betrayed him.

She was alive, Michelle was alive. He felt his legs carrying him towards her, Jack just behind him. She wasn't dead.

Jack, that was Jack. She recognised him. Maybe it was safe after all.

He heard Michelle call his name and was there instantly, smoothing away the hair on her forehead, taking her hands in his. "Chelle," he whispered.

This would have made her smile if she could remember how, if she could remember anything except the intense pain. "Is it safe Jack?" That wasn't her voice, that couldn't be her voice. It was cracked, hoarse, filled with pain.

"It's safe baby, it's safe."

Tony couldn't believe it. After all this time, after everything he'd been through, and she wanted Jack. He remembered that day at the prison, when she'd told him. He'd contemplated suicide before, but not seriously. Michelle was his angel, she was waiting for him, he couldn't do that to her. But when she told him, he was so lost. With his training, it was easy. But they'd found him. When he woke the next day, she was there, kissing him softly, telling him she loved him. Her face was filled with pain, her tears dripped down his neck. He'd forgiven her in an instant.

But he was wrong. He could see that now. She'd called for Jack, and now Jack was there, holding his wife. He shouldn't have forgiven her. He felt the anger rising up inside of him, it was growing beyond what he would control. But then he heard her words.

"Tell Tony I love him."

Jack moved so that Tony could talk to her, hold her. He didn't see the terror on her face.

"Sweetheart," Tony whispered softly. She was scared of him, he could see it in her face. Why was she scared of him? Wanting to reassure her, he brought his head closer to hers, his fingers settling on her shoulders.

Not again, they couldn't do this to her again, she hurt so much.

As her scream echoed throughout the room, Jack watched the doctors move in on her. She was given a sedative as they peeled back her gown. He thought he was going to be sick. He could only see her left arm, but it was enough. The top of it was entirely purple, there were small lacerations running along it, and there were bruises the shape of fingers just above her wrist. The marks on her shoulders where Tony had put his fingers could only have been cigarette burns.

"What's wrong with her, why didn't she recognise me?" Tony could hear her scream echoing over and over in his head, he was lost in the terror in her eyes.

"She hasn't been coherent since she got here." The doctor swallowed, wishing he didn't have to say the words that were about to come out of his mouth. "She's been under... immense physical... duress."

Tony felt his world come apart. He knew those words, he'd used them himself before, he just never expected them to be used in conjunction with his wife. They were the words that you used instead of "torture" when you didn't think the person you were talking to could handle the word torture.

When Michelle opened her eyes she smiled. He was here. "Tony," she whispered.

Tony smiled, he couldn't help himself. She recognised him, and despite everything, she still looked beautiful when she smiled.

For a moment, she was happy. She was caught up in his eyes, his fingers were playing with her hair and he was breathing her name. Then she remembered.

He saw it immediately, pain, horror, despair, they all tumbled into her eyes as she tried to escape him. Tears started to form, her breathing became laboured. "Hey, its ok. I promise you its ok."

She wouldn't look at him, she couldn't. She'd betrayed him. "I'm sorry Tony, I'm so sorry." Her words were so small and so filled with pain.

He knew what had been done to her, had read the report of her injuries, losing the contents of his stomach 3 times before he got to the end. He wanted her to know that she was safe, that he would never let anyone hurt her again. He placed her head against his. "Its ok. You did great." He didn't know what he could say that would make her feel better, his words seemed so pathetic, and there was no way he could hold her, her agonised screams when he'd touched her shoulders still played through his mind.

He didn't understand. "No, its not ok Tony. I betrayed you. I tried so hard, I really did. They were too strong Tony, I couldn't stop them. I tried."

Horrified at her words, he drew himself closer so that she would feel him, but so that he wasn't putting any weight on her. Even so, she flinched from his touch, a shudder causing agony to twist down her body in a barely concealed gasp. He knew what she was referring to, he felt so sick. "Michelle, its not your fault, don't say that."

He was pleading with her, but she didn't understand, couldn't. Her mind had been stuck on the same track for days, she was incapable of thinking anything else. She had betrayed Tony before, and he had tried to kill himself. Now, even after she'd promised, she'd done it again. He would hate her, he had to. "But I promised Tony, I promised you..."

Tony said the only thing that came into his mind. "Do you know what day it is today?"

She looked at him blankly, what was he talking about. Maybe she was dreaming this again. But she couldn't be, she hurt too much.

"12 days." Tony answered. "12 days since you accepted this mission." She still didn't understand. "You saved me. I was supposed to be dead now."

She looked at him, eyes wide. He wasn't mad at her, he didn't hate her. She'd spent the last week in agonies of pain, and all she could think about was how he was going to hate her. She couldn't understand it.

He watched her wince as salty tears poured down her face and into the partially closed cuts on her face. Slowly, so that she knew what she what he was going to do, he leant in close enough to be able to kiss her very gently, mindful of the splits in her lower lip.

Jack watched as Tony, balanced precariously on the edge of her bed, leant in and kissed Michelle. He watched her collapse against him. Like Tony, Jack had lost the contents of his stomach before he was able to complete the report of her injuries. They were consistent with what would be expected considering what had happened. But, it was Michelle, and it hurt, a lot.

He'd thought that when she got Tony back, her life would click neatly back into place. They could go back to the way they were. Jack would see his friends happy. It wasn't going to happen before, and it wasn't going to happen now.

He needed to believe that there could be happiness, he'd believed it on the day Tony and Michelle got married, but he was wrong, he was so wrong.

A/N ok- sorry for the whole killing Michelle/not killing Michelle thing. Without it the story was just too obvious. Ps. Let me know if it actually worked- I think that when I put the bit with it being a memorial and not a funeral in that it may have given it away. Only one more chapter to go and I promise it will be happy.


	10. Epilogue

Last chapter. Its happy this time

Jack felt the usual surge of jealousy run through him as he watched Tony and Michelle. He pushed it away easily, it wasn't very big today anyway, Michelle was in bad mood.

He hated that he felt that way, but he did. They had a second chance, and there was no way either of them was letting go of it. He knew that if he had a second chance, if he could hold Teri again, he wouldn't let her go for all the world.

He watched Tony approach her from her right side, neither of them was stupid enough to try and approach Michelle from the left. Michelle tried to swipe him away, so Tony leaned in and kissed her deeply. They'd be doing that a lot lately, Tony had figured out that by kissing her, he'd cause her to forget whatever it was she was supposed to be mad for.

Jack coughed slightly, but was ignored. Rolling his eyes, he slid himself out of the room as Tony's hands started to grope further than Jack wanted to see.

He found himself in their bathroom, staring into the mirror at his reflection. He looked old.

"Don't do that," her voice startled him. She was standing behind him, looking very worried. Staring aimlessly into mirrors had been a habit he'd had whilst he was going through withdrawal. It scared her more than anything else he did, he wasn't Jack any more when he did that. She'd hated having to go through that with him, she didn't want to have to do it again.

"Michelle," he muttered in an exasperated voice, "I'm in the bathroom." She'd never learnt, despite Tony's wariness. She still saw Jack as hers, and had absolutely no qualms about invading his personal space, even when he was in the bathroom.

Ignoring that, she asked, "What's wrong Jack. Please don't tell me its heroin, I will kill you if its heroin." Probably not the best way of encouraging him to tell her, but she knew full well that he would never lie to her.

Smiling at her protectiveness, he shook his head. "I look old," he said. He caught her smile, the teasing look in her eyes, and let himself laugh too.

She wrapped her arms about him, "I still think you're hot Jack."

More exasperated sighing. "Michelle..." They both knew the flirting between them was nothing more than a joke, but Tony hated it. Tony hated the presence of Jack in Michelle's life, but had been unable to prevent it. Michelle was still so broken inside. She still couldn't sleep, and Jack could only imagine what she saw when she closed her eyes. She needed him, and Tony wasn't about to stop her from seeing him, it would shatter her.

Tracing her fingers across his face, the scar he'd got from Tony when he'd finally cracked, unable to contain his anger any longer, Michelle whispered, "What are you still doing here Jack?"

They'd had this conversation before. Michelle would try and convince him that he needed to go and have his own life. He'd refused. He wouldn't leave her, she wasn't strong enough, he still felt responsible for what had happened to her. "I'm not leaving you Michelle. I promised you I'd look after you, and I will."

"Jack, I'm fine." She knew that was a lie, but she needed him to understand. Most of her injuries had healed, she could put weight on her left leg again, and yes she hurt inside, but she was getting better. Seeing Jack give up his life so that he could help her was destroying the progress she was making. Watching him about to protest, she continued, "Ok, so I'm not fine, but I will be. Tony's helping me, I have my life back Jack, and I'm living it. I want you to live yours."

What life was she talking about. He hadn't had a life since Teri died, he'd pretended with Kate, but it hadn't been the same. And unlike Michelle, he didn't get a second chance. Teri was dead. He took that thought back immediately. Michelle had paid so very dearly for her second chance. There was no way that she didn't deserve it. He wouldn't want Teri to pay it, even if it meant he could hold her again. He'd seen Michelle's injuries, he'd heard her screams echoing into the night.

"Michelle, we've been through this. No. Ok. I'm not going."

She shook her head at him. She knew what he was thinking. From her pocket she pulled out a folded up piece of paper.

"Jack, please don't give up on life. Please." She twirled the piece of paper in her fingers, then brought her hands down to her swollen stomach that was the source of her recent bad moods.

He'd been with her the day that the doctors told her she couldn't have kids. She'd cried so hard, holding him as tight as she could. All he could think of was hadn't she paid enough already, why wasn't she allowed to be happy? They'd said it was because of the injuries sustained whilst she was captured. So not only had her torture unhinged her emotionally and destroyed her physically, it had rendered her unable to have children.

She'd been so happy when she found out she was pregnant, but that was months ago, and months of Tony telling her to be careful and forcing her to sit quietly had left cross and annoyed with everyone.

He guessed she was right, you couldn't give up on life, she'd got her second chance. Tony loved her more than anything, and she was going to have a daughter. That didn't mean he was going to leave her.

As he shook his head, she placed the piece of paper in his hands. It was an address. Kimberley Edmunds.

"No Michelle. Don't do this." He was shaking. Kim was gone, she wasn't part of his life anymore. He didn't have to deal with this.

"Its your second chance Jack, take it." She started to walk out, praying that he had the sense to listen to her. She couldn't deal with this anymore.

Watching her leave, he knew that she was right. The Jack Bauer in the mirror was old, and he needed to start living his life before it was all gone. Before she walked out, he pulled her back, very gently so as not to scare her.

"Thank you," he whispered, then leaned in and kissed her.

It was her turn to be annoyed. "Jack. Do you want me to tell Tony you're flirting with his wife again."

Jack laughed as she turned and left. His smile fled when he looked in the mirror. She was so right. He didn't want to give up. He wanted what she had, a second chance at happiness.

As he left, he saw Michelle lean in and give Tony the kiss that he had tried to take, the kiss that would never be meant for him. He felt a surge of jealousy, but ignored it. Out of everyone he knew, she deserved to be happy.

He twirled the piece of paper in his hands, just as Michelle had. Kimberley Edmunds. She was married. That would be a good place to start.

Final note: That's all folks. And I gave it a happy (well happy-ish) T/M fluff ending. Please let me know what you thought about it.


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